Merits of the GOES-R ABI 13.3-μm Data for Inferring Upper-Troposphere Cloud Top Locations in the Presence of Multilayered Clouds

Multilayered clouds cause considerable errors in the cloud top heights (CTHs) deduced from operational meteorological satellites. The cause is due to the traditional assumption of a single-layer cloud whereas the satellite spectral observations contained radiances from the upper and lower clouds. The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) of the next-generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R series (GOES-R) is scheduled for launch in approximately 2015, which will have 16 spectral channels with resolutions ranging from 0.5 to 2 km. This study explores the merits of having the 13.3-μm channel (Band 16) for inferring the upper-troposphere CTHs and a modified CO2-absorption technique (MCO2AT) is presented to improve the inference of the upper-troposphere CTHs. Retrievals of the upper-troposphere CTHs using the MCO2AT are compared with the retrievals using the single-layered CO2-absorption technique (SCO2AT) by employing the 11-μm and 13.3-μm data from the GOES-12. Merits of the MCO2AT using the ABI 11-μm and 13.3-μm data will be discussed and evaluated from the validation studies by comparing the GOES-12 retrievals with the ground-based ARM-ARSCL, the airborne TC4-ER2 CTH, and the ICEsat GLAS CTH data products.